OFFICIAL MAGAZINE / #0511 / 2013

BEACH IN 2013: A LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR THINK

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EN_SMDIESEL_BRAND PRACTICALITY_297x210_FIVB_HONDA.indd 1 24/06/2013 15:06 EDITORIAL 1

Cover photo This month we look back upon what has been a competing on the highly successful and entertaining China’s Chen Xue diving for the thoroughly entertaining season – both South American tour. Mikasa at the Gstaad Open for the fans and the athletes on the court. in Switzerland, which she won with Xiamen was upgraded to a Grand Slam to the FIVB team-mate Zhang Xi We added three new Grand Slams to the calendar – in Beach Volleyball World Tour, but it was important we Corrientes (Argentina), Long Beach (USA) and Xiamen had a second stop in Asia to help the growth of beach Publication Management (China) and all three were important strategic locations volleyball in that Confederation. and Editorial Committee for the development of beach volleyball. Fédération Internationale All three can take heart from Stare Jablonki. The de Volleyball It was fantastic to take the tour back to the US and tournament in Poland, which began life as a men-only Château Les Tourelles Long Beach meant we had a stop close to where beach Open in 2004, turned into a hugely popular double- Edouard-Sandoz 2-4, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland volleyball originally took shape and where many of the gender Grand Slam and this year hosted the highly Tel. 0041-21-3453535 stars on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour took successful FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. Fax 0041-21-3453545 their first steps in the sport. www.fivb.org The organisers showed that with hard work, learned Press Department Director While beach volleyball will always have a thriving scene lessons and by listening to the athletes they can have Richard Baker stateside, the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour provides a tournament which athletes and spectators alike will the next level up with a wider variety of styles and want to return to again and again. Editorial conditions and from that point of view I was delighted Jeremy Inson to see Casey Patterson make a successful transition in Design and Layout his first season on the FIVB World Tour from domestic amethys.ch tournaments in the US.

Translation It was a fantastic tournament in Corrientes and the Libero Language Lab crowds responded by filling centre court on a daily www.liberos.com basis to watch some great action.

Reproduction When the tournament was over, all involved were Reproduction of any article able to look back on an excellent tournament that or part of the magazine was enjoyed by everyone. I hope they can continue is authorised, providing that with it as it provides all South American teams with the source is explicitly cited a local tournament to aim for once they have finished FIVB President: Dr. Ary S. Graça F° Contributions Typed articles are accepted in the following languages: # French, English CONTENT / VOLLEYWORLD / 11 / 2013 Email: [email protected]

Photographs 2 4 10 12 FIVB Archives BIG PICTURE COVER STORY FEATURE 1 FEATURE 2

VolleyWorld is available Beach Volleyball New faces shake up Brazilian duos ensure China and the wraps up another the established order home delight in Netherlands top to download in English, French, successful year on World Tour Campinas the world in Poland Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian and Chinese at www.fivb.org

The views expressed in 14 16 18 20 VolleyWorld are not necessarily FEATURE 3 FEATURE 4 FEATURE 5 SOCIAL MEDIA those of the FIVB or its Officials. Porto puts on show Golden days for Familiar teams add The content of this publication for young pretenders Brazilian and Polish U23 crowns to medal is based on the best information pairs under Croatian collections 24 available at the time the sun CONFEDERATIONS articles were written. 2 BIG PICTURE 3

– Beach Volleyball wraps up another successful year

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour once again met expectations keeping fans entertained and excited around the globe as the tournament took place in 10 different venues, which included regular favourites such as Gstaad and Rome as well as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Mazury, Poland. The World Tour was underpinned by four Open tournaments that gave more nations the chance to host a tournament and make 2013 a year to remember. COVER STORY 4 BVB WORLD TOUR 5

– New faces shake up the established order on World Tour

With changes to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2013 as well as new venues for the Grand Slams and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, VolleyWorld looks back on a year that threw up surprises galore as new teams began to make their mark.

Talita Antunes (left) and Taiana Lima took an early grip on the women’s rankings COVER STORY 6 BVB WORLD TOUR

One tournament caught the attention after the publication of the They followed their win in Shanghai with gold medals at the 2013 Beach Volleyball World Tour dates – the FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slams in The Hague, Rome, Long Beach and Berlin and World Championships in the ever-popular Stare Jablonki in Poland. then a silver medal in Xiamen. With five golds in the first eight However, there were also a further 10 Grand Slams over four FIVB Grand Slams of the season, they were the runaway leaders. In fact confederations to contend with and new venues and conditions to so dominant have they been that they could afford to only add adapt to in Corrientes (Argentina), Long Beach (USA) and Xiamen the silver medal from the Xiamen Grand Slam in the final three (China). Grand Slams and still remain top.

Supplementing the Grand Slams and contributing points to the World Brazil’s Salgado sisters Maria-Clara and Carolina enjoyed their Rankings were four Open tournaments. The Fuzhou Open in China best year after Carolina returned to the beach following the marked the start of the FIVB beach volleyball season and after further birth of her first child in 2013. They began the season well with Opens in Anapa (Russia) and Phuket (Thailand) the 2013 season two bronze medal places in Shanghai and Corrientes and then concluded with the Durban Open on the shores of South Africa’s grabbed silver in The Hague; another silver medal followed in Indian Ocean. Players also earned points in continental competitions Long Beach, before eventually they won their first Grand Slam and their domestic tours. gold medal in Moscow.

Looking over the field it was hard to make any concrete predictions after Also making a dramatic return was triple US Olympic gold medallist the vast majority of female and male teams were shaken up and mixed Kerri Walsh, albeit without her long-term partner Misty May-Treanor. about. In the end it was some familiar faces in new-look teams that led She first teamed up with April Ross in Gstaad with the long-term the way in 2013. goal of winning a fourth Olympic gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. They reached the knockout stages in the Swiss Alps, Despite being a new pairing, Brazilians Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima but then reunited to win the Sao Paolo and Xiamen Grand Slams and were the dominant female pair throughout the season. Even when they send an early warning of what the rest of the teams will face in 2014. were not at their best they still managed to find a way onto the podium and were fitting winners for the top spot in the season rankings. For surprises though the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships were like none before them. While the well-established Chen Xue and At the start of the season Talita and Lima did not hang around and won Zhang Xi of China finally added a global title to their 2008 Olympic the first of their five FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold medals at the Games and 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship bronze opening Grand Slam of the year in Shanghai with a win over Austrian medals, few would have expected them to defeat Germany’s Karla sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger. Borger and Britta Büthe in the gold medal match. 7

Latvia’s Janis Smedins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs were another new partner Jacob Gibb meanwhile teamed up with the flamboyant team to find their stride and they were pushed hard by Brazil’s Pedro Casey Patterson to win gold at the Shanghai Grand Slam, silver in Salgado and Bruno Schmidt throughout the season before they Corrientes and a bronze medal in Gstaad. topped the men’s season rankings, with the Brazilians in second place. Elsewhere Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo and Spain’s Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira flew the flag for Europe by winning silvers The men’s Tour developed into a straight shoot-out between Smedins/ and bronze. Nicolai and Lupo won silver in Fuzhou and bronze in Samoilovs and Salgado/ Schmidt, with both sides winning five medals Corrientes, Long Beach and Xiamen, while Herrera and Gavira won – two gold, two silver and one bronze. However, the one time they silver in Long Beach and bronze in Berlin and were also crowned met in a final in The Hague, it was the Brazilians who came out on European champions. top.

It all came down to the final tournament of the year at the Durban The Salgado sisters Maria-Clara (left) and Carolina had plenty to celebrate, Open and when the Latvians reached the quarterfinals it was enough as did their brother Pedro (right) and his partner Bruno Schmidt to keep them at the top of the season rankings. Fittingly they went Aleksandrs Samoilovs won two Grand Slam gold medals, two silvers and one bronze along with partner Janis Smedins Alexander Brouwer (left) and Robert Meeuwsen exceeded their expectations by becoming world champions

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD TOUR SEASON RANKING WINNERS

WOMEN’S TOP FIVE

1 Talita Antunes/ Taiana Lima (BRA)

2 Maria-Clara Salgado/ Carolina Salgado (BRA)

3 Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER)

4 /Kira Walkenhorst (GER)

5 Agatha Bednarczuk/Maria Antonelli (BRA)

2013 FIVB SEASON RANKING - WOMEN onto to win gold in South Africa, while Pedro and Bruno joined them on the podium for bronze. MEN’S TOP FIVE

Eventual World Championship winners, Alexander Brouwer and 1 Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) Robert Meeuwsen from the Netherlands, went into the season with their main goal being to reach at least the quarterfinals of a 2 Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA) Grand Slam so as to move up into a higher bracket of Dutch Olympic Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA) Committee funding. Instead the duo left Poland with gold medals 3 around their necks and with their names firmly etched in as the 4 Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (NED) poster boys for the 2015 World Championships in the Netherlands. 5 Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho (BRA) USA’s Phil Dalhausser and Sean Rosenthal enjoyed a mixed start to their time as a team, though they can at least look back on two 2013 FIVB SEASON RANKING - MEN gold medal finishes in Rome and Long Beach. Rosenthal’s former 8 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD TOUR 2013

SHANGHAI GRAND SLAM (CHINA) Women (May 1 to 5, 2013) Men (April 30 to May 4, 2013) GOLD Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) GOLD Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA) SILVER Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger (AUT) SILVER Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA) BRONZE Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado (BRA) BRONZE Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho (BRA)

CORRIENTES GRAND SLAM (ARGENTINA) Women (May 22 to 26, 2013) Men (May 22 to 26, 2013) GOLD Madelein Meppelink/Sophie van Gestel (NED) GOLD Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) SILVER Maria Antonelli/ Agatha Bednarczuk (BRA) SILVER Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA) BRONZE Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado (BRA) BRONZE Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA)

THE HAGUE GRAND SLAM (THE NETHERLANDS) Women (June 11 to 16, 2013) Men (June 11 to 16, 2013) GOLD Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) GOLD Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA) SILVER Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado (BRA) SILVER Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) BRONZE Katrin Holtiwck/Ilka Semmler (GER) BRONZE Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel (POL)

SMART GRAND SLAM – ROME (ITALY) Women (June 18 to 23, 2013) Men (June 18 to 23, 2013) GOLD Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) GOLD Phil Dalhausser/ Sean Rosenthal (USA) SILVER Jennifer Kessy/April Ross (USA) SILVER Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) BRONZE Liliana Maestrini/Barbara Seixas (BRA) BRONZE Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA)

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MAZURY 2013 (POLAND) Women (July 1 to 6, 2013) Men (July 2 to 7, 2013) GOLD Chen Xue/Zhang Xi (CHN) GOLD Robert Meeuwsen/Alexander Brouwer (NED) SILVER Karla Borger/Britta Buthe (GER) SILVER Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho (BRA) BRONZE Liliane Maestrini/Barbara Seixas (BRA) BRONZE Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik (GER)

GSTAAD GRAND SLAM (SWITZERLAND) Women (July 9 to 14, 2013) Men (July 10 to 14, 2013) GOLD Chen Xue/Zhang Xi (CHN) GOLD Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho (BRA) SILVER Liliana Maestrini/Barbara Seixas (BRA) SILVER Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA) BRONZE Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) BRONZE Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA)

LONG BEACH GRAND SLAM (USA) Women (July 22 to 26, 2013) Men (July 22 to 27, 2013) GOLD Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) GOLD Phil Dalhausser/ Sean Rosenthal (USA) SILVER Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado (BRA) SILVER Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (ESP) BRONZE Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER) BRONZE Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA)

BERLIN SMART GRAND SLAM (GERMANY) Women (August 7 to 11, 2013) Men (August 6 to 10, 2013) GOLD Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) GOLD Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA) SILVER Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER) SILVER Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA) BRONZE Jennifer Fopma/Brooke Sweat (USA) BRONZE Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho (BRA) 9 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD TOUR 2013

MOSCOW GRAND SLAM (RUSSIA) Women (August 21 to 25, 2013) Men (August 21 to 25, 2013) GOLD Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado (BRA) GOLD Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) SILVER Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (GER) SILVER Emanuel Rego/Evandro Goncalves (BRA) BRONZE Liliana Fernandez/Elsa Baquerizo (ESP) BRONZE Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho (BRA)

SAO PAOLO GRAND SLAM (BRAZIL) Women (October 8 to 13, 2013) Men (October 8 to 13, 2013) GOLD April Ross/Kerri Walsh (USA) GOLD Pedro Salgado/Bruno Schmidt (BRA) SILVER Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (GER) SILVER Phil Dalhausser/Casey Jennings (USA) BRONZE Maria Antonelli/Agatha Bednarczuk (BRA) BRONZE Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT)

XIAMEN GRAND SLAM (CHINA) Women (October 23 to 27, 2013) Men (October 22 to 26, 2013) GOLD April Ross/Kerri Walsh (USA) GOLD /Vitor Felipe (BRA SILVER Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) SILVER Robert Meeuwsen/Alexander Brouwer (NED) BRONZE Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (GER) BRONZE Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA)

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL OPEN 2013

FUZHOU OPEN (CHINA) Women (April 23 to 27, 2013) Men (April 24 to 28, 2013) GOLD Chen Xue/Zhang Xi (CHN) GOLD Phil Dalhausser/ Sean Rosenthal (USA) SILVER Liliana Fernandez-Steiner/Elsa Baquerizo (ESP) SILVER Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA) BRONZE Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER) BRONZE Alexander Huber/Robin Seidl (AUT)

ANAPA OPEN (RUSSIA) Women (July 23 to 27, 2013) Men (July 24 to 28, 2013) GOLD Evgenia Ukolova/Ekaterina Khomyakova (RUS) GOLD Konstantin Semenov/Yaroslav Koshkarev (RUS) SILVER Teresa Mersmann/Isabel Schneider (GER) SILVER Lars Fluggen/Alexander Walkenhorst (GER) BRONZE Maria Prokopeva/ Svetlana Popova (RUS) BRONZE Alexey Pastukhov/Viacheslav Krasilnikov (RUS)

PHUKET OPEN (SINGLE GENDER COMPETITION) – (THAILAND) Women (October 29 to November 3, 2013) GOLD Chen Xue/ Xinyi Xia (CHN SILVER Emily Day/ Summer Ross (USA) BRONZE Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado (BRA)

DURBAN OPEN (SOUTH AFRICA) Women (December 11 to 14, 2013) Men (December 11 to 14, 2013) GOLD Chen Xue/Xinyi Xia (CHN) GOLD Janis Smedins/Alexandrs Samoilovs (LAT) SILVER Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (GER) SILVER Martins Plavins/Aleksandrs Solovejs (LAT) BRONZE Whitney Pavlik/Jennifer Kessy (USA) BRONZE Pedro Solberg/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (BRA) FEATURE 1 10 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CUP FINAL 11

– Brazilian duos ensure home delight in Campinas

There was double Brazilian joy at the inaugural FIVB Beach The Beach Volleyball World Cup Final featured 10 teams each in the Volleyball World Cup Final as the women’s duo of Talita An- men’s and women’s competition, represented by different nations tunes and Maria Antonelli and the men’s team of Alison Ce- with prize money of US$150,000 per gender up for grabs. rutti and Emanuel Rego carried off the gold medals in front of ecstatic home crowds in Campinas. For both winning teams their gold medal success was a final hurrah as a partnership. Although Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli had The tournament was a culmination of the three-year Continental Cup reunited solely for the Beach Volleyball World Cup Final having al- Olympic Games qualification tournament, which included the FIVB ready split at the end of 2012, few would have predicted that Alison World Cup Olympic Qualification in Moscow in June 2012, which and Emanuel would be unable to add further World Tour gold med- also qualified teams for the Olympic Games in London that year. als in 2013. The 2011 world champions went their separate ways in November 2013, meaning that their win over USA’s Jacob Gibb and Casey Patterson in the Beach Volleyball World Cup Final was the last time that they topped an FIVB podium in tandem.

They weren’t the only teams who turned back the clock and won a FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CUP FINAL medal. Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins who had split soon CAMPINAS, BRAZIL after their surprise bronze medal finish at the 2012 Olympic Games Women’s competition (December 11 to 14, 2013) in London, joined forces once again in Campinas. They showed that they were still a potent pair when they beat Germany’s Jonathan GOLD Maria Antonelli/Talita Da Rocha Antunes (BRA) Erdmann and Kay Matysik in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Cup SILVER April Ross/Jennifer Kessy (USA) Final bronze-medal match. BRONZE Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER)

Men’s competition (December 11 to 14, 2013) In the women’s competition Brazil’s Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Ma- GOLD Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego (BRA) ria Antonelli defeated the London 2012 silver medallists, USA’s April Ross and Jennifer Kessy, while Germany’s Katrin Holtwick and Ilka SILVER Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA) Semmler defeated Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Louise Bawden to BRONZE Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins (LAT) win the bronze medal. FEATURE 2 12 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

– China and the Netherlands top the world in Poland

Stare Jablonki in Poland had long waited for its chance to host They ended the 2012 Olympic Games in London disappointed with the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and when its their fourth place finish and went into the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball time finally came the lakeside venue did not disappoint. World Championships having taken the gold medal at the Fuzhou Open in China. The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Mazury 2013 will be remembered above all for its two winning teams, who were able to Although they got off to a shaky start losing to Finnish twin sisters celebrate for widely contrasting reasons. Emilia and Erika Nystrom in the pool stage, the Chinese duo picked up the pace and eventually took on Germany’s Karla Borger and Brit- China’s Chen Xue and Zhang Xi had been among the leading sides ta Büthe in the final. It was the furthest the German duo had ever on the women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for a number of been in a tournament and the final had everyone on tenterhooks as years, but had never landed a major title. They were bronze medal- the points swung back and forth. Despite needing six match points lists at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and also finished third at the Chinese duo eventually won the World Championship title. the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome. In the men’s competition Robert Meeuwsen and Alexander Brouwer became the first Dutch team to win the FIVB Beach Volleyball World FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Championships, though neither had imagined that they would finish MAZURY 2013 with the title at the start of the tournament. Women (July 1 to 7, 2013) GOLD Chen Xue/Zhang Xi (CHN) Having won twice in the pool stage their confidence grew as they continued their winning ways and eliminated compatriots Reinder SILVER Karla Borger/ Britta Büthe (GER) Nummerdor and Richard Schuil as well as Brazil’s Pedro Salgado and BRONZE Liliane Maestrini / Barbara Seixas (BRA) Bruno Schmidt. Men (July 1 to 7, 2013) GOLD Alexander Brouwer /Robert Meeuwsen (NED) In the semifinals they defeated Germany’s Jonathan Erdmann and Kay Matysik and then defeated another Brazilian side, Ricardo San- SILVER Ricardo Santos/ Alvaro Filho (BRA) tos and Alvaro Filho to claim gold and bring the curtain down on a BRONZE Jonathan Erdmann/ Kay Matysik (GER) memorable seven days in Poland’s north-east. 13 FEATURE 3 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL 14 U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

– Porto puts on show for young pretenders

The FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships are a vital “We just started well from the beginning and made our points,” step in the development of players at it provides them with Reichert said. “Clemens did some great defence. We played like a a first taste of international competition and the chance to team and that was the key to us winning here.” mix with fellow athletes from around the world. VolleyWorld looks back on how the 2013 edition unfolded. The girl’s gold went to 14-year-old Eduarda Santos Lisboa and her partner Taina Silva Bigi, who is three years her senior. For Santos Porto’s hosting of the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships Lisboa is was her second age-group final of the year after she had for the second time signalled Portugal’s return to the beach volleyball won silver at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championships world stage and this time it was German and Brazilians teams who with Thais Rodrigues Ferreira only a few weeks previously. left with the gold medals. Like their male counterparts they didn’t wait around to win gold and In the boy’s tournament German duo Moritz Reichert and Clemens wrapped up a 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) win over Russia’s Anna Gorbunova Wickler beat their fellow Europeans Bjarne Nikolai Huus and Christian and Nadezda Makroguzova in 29 minutes. Sandlie Sorum from Norway 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) in the gold-medal match and in doing so became the third German team to claim gold at the U19 World Championship level. Taina Silva Bigi was one half of the winning pair in the girls’ competition FEATURE 3 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 15

Germany’s Moritz Reichert (left) and Clemens Wickler met the press after they won gold at the U19 World Championship

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PORTO, PORTUGAL “We were very confident, Girls’ competition (July 10 to 14, 2013) but it is still a feeling I can’t GOLD Eduarda Santos Lisboa/Taina Silva Bigi (BRA) express.” SILVER Anna Gorbunova/Nadezda Makroguzova (RUS) BRONZE /Kelly Claes (USA) Santos Lisboa Boys’ competition (July 10 to 14, 2013 ) GOLD Moritz Reichert/Clemens Wickler (GER) SILVER Bjarne Nikolai Huus/Christian Sandlie Sorum (NOR)

Two USA teams claimed the bronze medals; Sara Hughes and Kelly BRONZE Torey DeFalco/Lucas Yoder (USA) Claes were rewarded with the girl’s bronze medal after they had knocked out U21 World Champions Katarzyna Kociolek and Jagoda USA’s first FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship medal Gruszscynska and top Swiss team and Nicole Eiholzer since 2008. earlier in the tournament. “I am pretty stoked,” DeFalco said. “It means a lot to me to win this After losing the semifinal to Brazil they came back from behind medal since this is my first FIVB beach volleyball event.” against Germany’s Sarah Schneider and Lara Schreiber to win 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 15-12). Like all the FIVB’s age-group tournaments the U19 World Championship offered teams from developing countries the chance Torey DeFalco and Lucas Yoder also needed to fight back from losing to compete at the highest level and in this year’s edition teams from the opening set to win the boy’s bronze. They beat Lithuania’s Lukas Zimbabwe, Niger, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Nicaragua Kazdailis and Arnas Rumsevicius 2-1 (22-24, 21-18, 15-8) to claim competed with distinction. FEATURE 4 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL 16 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Golden days for Brazilian and Polish pairs under Croatian sun

Umag was once again awarded hosting rights to an FIVB In the men’s final Brazil’s Gustavo Carvalhaes and Allison Cittadin age-group tournament, this time the FIVB Beach Volleyball needed only two sets to beat Canada’s Grant O’Gorman and Aaron U21 World Championship, after it had successfully hosted Nusbaum to win gold with a 2-0 (21-12, 23-21) victory. the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship in 2011. VolleyWorld looks back on all the action from the Croatian It was the Brazilian’s second victory over the Canadians after they coast. had met in pool play. Gustavo then went onto win the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award. If the age-group World Championships are about opening up a pathway to future teams and offering opportunities to developing “He is the best defender in this championship,” Allison said about countries, then the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship his partner. “He is the best partner in the world and also my best in 2013 showed that the growth of the sport is likely to continue friend. I am very happy with this gold medal. We have worked very apace in the coming years as new teams step up to the FIVB Beach hard for this. Volleyball World Tour. “Right now I want to celebrate this gold medal and enjoy the Five different countries were represented on the podium, with only moment. This is a unique moment in my career. Next year I Poland enjoying success in both the men’s and women’s competition. will be 21 and after this event we will focus on the U23 World Championships.” For once it was Poland’s women who enjoyed gold-medal success at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship after strong Poland’s Maciej Kosiak and Maciej Rudol defeated Russia’s Maxim performances by their men in recent years when Katarzyna Kociolek Zhirkov and Ostap Firsov 2-0 (21-19 21-19) to win the men’s bronze and Jagoda Gruszscynska claimed gold with a 2-0 (22-20, 23-21) win medal. over Germany’s Anika Krebs and Jelena Wlk. “It was a very hard and disappointing match,” Rudol said. “It was For Kociolek it was her second Umag gold after she finished first at hard to get motivated for this match, but we did it.” the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship with Karolina Baran in 2011. Kociolek and Gruszczynska also beat the Germans for the second time in a final; in 2012 they took gold at the CEV U20 European Championships. FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS UMAG, CROATIA

“I just can’t believe we won this second set,” Kociolek said. “I felt so Women’s (June 19 to 23, 2013) hopeless and made so many mistakes. But it doesn’t matter, we won. GOLD Katarzyna Kociolek/Jagoda Gruszscynska (POL) I am so glad we finally started to play at the end of the set.” SILVER Anika Krebs/Jelena Wlk (GER) BRONZE Katharina Schutzenhofer/ Lena Plesiutschnig (AUT) Austria’s Katharina Schutzenhofer and Lena Plesiutschnig won the bronze medal after a dominant 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) win over Paula Men’s (June 19 to 23, 2013) Soria and Raquel Brun from Spain. GOLD Gustavo Carvalhaes/Allison Cittadin (BRA) SILVER Grant O’Gorman/Aaron Nusbaum (CAN) “I am glad we made it because our bodies are drained and we are BRONZE Maciej Kosiak/Maciej Rudol (POL) exhausted right now,” said Schutzenhofer. 17

Teams from five different countries finished on the podium in Umag Poland’s Jagoda Gruszczynska and Brazil’s Gustavo Albrecht Carvalhaes were the tournament MVPs Jagoda Gruszczynska (left) and Katarzyna Kociolek didn’t hold back with their celebrations after winning gold FEATURE 5 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL 18 U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

– Familiar teams add U23 crowns to medal collections

Myslowice was the venue for the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championships and it was European teams who finished top of the podium in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. VolleyWorld looks back on all the action from southern Poland.

The FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championships were set up as one last bridge between age-group and World Tour beach volleyball and it came as little surprise that the two gold medal-winning teams were duos who had already appeared on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

Men’s gold went to local favourites Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak, who added U23 World Championship gold to their FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship crown in 2012 and the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship gold medal that they won in 2010 and used their experience from playing on the World Tour to full effect.

Germany’s Victoria Bieneck and Isabell Schneider meanwhile powered “Of course we are very happy,” Kantor said. “We want to thank our their way to gold in an equally competitive female field to once again supporters because today we had a full house. We thought we would underline Germany’s growing strength. play the Russian and Austrian teams at some point in the tournament and luckily we beat them to reach the final. Thirty-two teams per gender took part in the tournament and featured teams from developing countries, notably St. Lucia, Kenya and Rwanda. With Myslowice having experience of organising a “In the final we played a very wide variety of Open and age-group tournaments, the FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championships were in safe hands for their hard opponent in Brazil, but debut. we managed to win and I am

Kantor and Losiak were the dominant team throughout the very proud of that.” tournament and were firm favourites for the local crowd, who filled Piotr Kantor centre court whenever they stepped onto the sand.

The Poles were pushed hard by Austrian duo Lorenz Petutschnig and Tobias Winter in the semifinal, but recovered from the three-set For Brazil’s Vitor Felipe the silver completed a disappointing hat-trick match to win in straight sets against Brazil’s Vitor Felipe and Marcio that included silver medals from the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Guadie Ley, 2-0 (21-16, 21-17). Championships in 2009 and 2010. However, he was another player 19

Victoria Bieneck and Isabel Schneider claimed gold at the inaugural women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championship Bartosz Losiak (left) and Piotr Kantor ended with yet another gold to add to their collection

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MYSLOWICE, POLAND

Women’s (June 5 to 9, 2013) GOLD Victoria Bieneck/Isabell Schneider (GER) SILVER Eduarda Santos Lisbao/Thais Rodrigues Ferreira (BRA) BRONZE Melissa Humana-Paredes/Taylor Pischke (CAN)

Men’s (June 5 to 9, 2013 ) GOLD Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (POL) SILVER Vitor Goncalves Felipe/Marcio Guadie Ley (BRA) BRONZE Lorenz Petutschnig/Tobias Winter (AUT)

to have already competed on the World Tour and by the season’s end “The first set we didn’t play as well as we could and I knew that if we he had two gold medals to his name, from the Berlin and Xiamen improved we could win,” Schneider added. “We came back after we Grand Slams. Petutschnig and Winter meanwhile recovered from tried some new ideas. The tie-break then is just a fight.” their semifinal exertions to win the bronze medals with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) win over Latvia’s Rihards Finsters and Aleksandrs Solovejs. At 14, Santos Lisbao was the youngest player in the tournament. But alongside the 22-year-old Rodrigues Ferreira signalled her potential Bieneck and Schneider were pushed hard by Brazil duo Eduarda that later in the year allowed her to return victorious from the FIVB Santos Lisbao and Thais Rodrigues Ferreira in the women’s final. Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships. Although the Brazilians won the first set, Bieneck and Schneider dug in and won 2-1 (19-21, 21-12, 15-13). The Germans had gone about Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Taylor Pischke won the bronze reaching the final in a quiet and understated way, but stayed strong medal with a 2-1 (19-21, 21-15, 16-14) win over the Czech Republic’s when it truly mattered. Eliska Galova and Adela Machova. It was a remarkable victory for the duo who were playing in only their first tournament together and The fourth seeds had gone about reaching the final in a quiet and spend most of the year in different parts cities due to their studies. understated way, but stayed strong when it truly mattered. “It was a really, really good game and they played really, really well “I think that wasn’t our best game, but it was a final and everybody and we played really, really well and it came down to withstanding the wants to win,” Bieneck said. “It was a long tournament and we are pressure and the heat,” Humana-Paredes said. “The first set didn’t go feeling it in our legs, but of course we are happy that we won.” our way, but we came back strong.” 20 IN FOCUS

Robert Meeuwsen and Alexander Brouwer – FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, Mazury 2013

Chen Xue and Zhang Xi - FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, Mazury 2013

Behind the scenes on centre court at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, Mazury 2013 21

April Ross and Kerri Walsh after winning gold at the Sao Paolo Grand Slam

Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel after winning gold at the Corrientes Grand Slam

Jacob Gibb and Casey Patterson after winning gold at the Shanghai Grand Slam 22 IN FOCUS

– Social media Misty May-Treanor review @MistyMayTreanor

Social media was abuzz throughout the Watching #FIVB World year at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Champs right now. Saw USA Mark Heese Championship, the World Tour and the vs BRA for bronze now GER @HeeseMark FIVB Beach Volleyball U19, U21 and U23 vs CHN for gold. Miss my World Championships. Here VolleyWorld international volleyball Canadian men getting it looks back on the best from Twitter, friends. GoodLuck done @FIVBWorldChamps Facebook and Youtube @BenSaxton13 @chaimschalk Huge win vs. 6th seed LAT Now play quarterfinal vs@Emanuel_ April Ross Volei @AprilRossBeach

Won our match vs Austria to make the semis!! We’re up against Germany tomorrow, going to be another tough one! pic.twitter.com/ RJuKyNGRhY

JVA @JPN_Volleyball Maria Clara Salgado @MClaraSalgado JakeGibb Silver in Rome! It is our third @JakeGibb medal in last three Grand That’s for @geeter3! great Slams #RomeGS pic.twitter. and fun podium with those com/rFTOspyZ1p 3!! @Caseythomasj Pretty amazing spot to hold @samoilovs pic.twitter.com/ the Corrientes tournament. pdR5wZumvw Muchas gracias Argentina! pic.twitter.com/GOXGwKAqt7

24 CONFEDERATIONS

. CONFEDERATIONS

AVC Vanuatu women put country on beach volleyball map

Miller Elwin and Henriette Iatika made history at Mazury 2013 when they became the first women’s team from Vanuatu and from the South Pacific to participate in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.

Along with Paraguay and Thailand, the Vanuatu duo made their debuts in the FIVB’s premier beach volleyball event.

Elwin and Iatika began playing on the FIVB World Tour in 2008, with their best result a 17th place finish at the 2012 Shanghai Grand Slam and both players aimed to make their families and country proud with their debut at the FIVB World Championships.

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Elwin and Iatika claimed their ticket to Poland after winning the 2012 Oceania Championships CONFEDERATIONS 25

. CAVB Kenya setting sights high

Kenya’s beach volleyball players set themselves some lofty targets for the year 2013 and beyond.

Kenya’s female team of Gaudencia Makokha and Naomie Too qualified for the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championships in Myslowice through the African Federation’s (CAVB) tournament for north, central and east Africa. There were high hopes for the duo who the Federation hoped would build on the lessons learned in the tournament for future success.

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Gaudencia Makokha and Naomie Too competed with the best in Myslowice

CEV “I keep fighting for my comeback” – Julius Brink

Olympic beach volleyball champion Julius Brink took the beach volleyball world by surprise when he announced his separation from partner Sebastian Fuchs and his decision to team with Germany’s up- and-coming player, Armin Dollinger.

No one can deny that things have been difficult for Brink following the 2012 Olympic Games in London where he made history by being the first European to win beach volleyball Olympic gold with partner Jonas Reckerman.

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Olympic Champion Brink has a lot to look forward to as he starts preparations for next year’s beach volleyball season with new partner Armin Dollinger 26 CONFEDERATIONS

CSV Venezuelan beach volleyball benefit from Igor and Fane’s success story

Igor Hernandez and Jesus Villafane were the first beach volleyball players from Venezuela to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London where they finished 19th. At their first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships at Mazury 2013 they booked another success story when they advanced to the elimination rounds with two wins in pool play.

One of those wins was a stunning 2-0 win over former world and Olympic champion Todd Rogers and his new partner Ryan Doherty. “It was a big achievement for us to win against an Olympic champion like Rogers”, Villafane said.

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After London 2012 Igor Hernandez started coaching young beach volleyball players

NORCECA Long trip earns rich rewards for St Lucians

It was a long way from the sunny, golden beaches of the Caribbean to the courts of southern Poland where the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball U23 World Championships took place, but that didn’t stop St Lucia’s two representatives from making history as the first two players from their country to compete at an FIVB age-group world championships.

Julian Bissette and Gillan Octave represented the island nation of 176,000 people and while they may have travelled nearly 10,000 kilometres to get to Myslowice, they were in no doubt what their participation meant.

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Julian Bissette (left) and Gillan Octave flew the flag for St Lucia